UK FtM Information

Hi Anon,

No your beard hair will not fall out if you stop using minoxidil.

Minoxidil is to encourage hair growth, which lots of guys have found differing results with.

From personal experience, I used it as my beard was growing in, then stopped simply because I kept forgetting, yet years later my beard is fuller and thicker than ever and is actually growing in faster than it did when I used minoxidil.

The best way to look at minoxidil is that it does not create new hair, it helps encourage what you have to grow, which is why you can’t grow a beard simply using minoxidil and not testosterone. What may happen is that your hair might now grow as fast, but it will not fall out just because you stopped using it. It may however fall out due to male pattern baldness which can be a result of testosterone, genetics and aging.

- Harry

Hi Anon,

Getting a GRC will mean that you can apply for a new birth certificate. It also means that all your pension details and HMRC details will not only be updated, but protected.

By getting a GRC your old records are merged with your new ones and protected under a completely different team than anyone else without a GRC. This means that anyone that looks for your past information will be unable to find it and would have to work with this specific team if they had the approval to do so.

There are benefits in terms of marriage certificates, which we discussed in a few of our other posts, if you want to have a look at those.

A GRC pretty much gives you the peice of mind that your past is safely secured away from those that should not be looking at it or those you don’t want to know about it, like new employers for example when they need to do things like background checks or set up your pension etc and it also means that anything you want to update is now possible without exception.

Obviously not everyone feels they want or need to have a GRC or new birth certificate. So it’s all about what you feel is necessary.

This link will give you all the info you need to apply for a GRC if you feel you want to:

https://www.gov.uk/apply-gender-recognition-certificate

- Harry

@gnotknormal​ Yes, you can change your gender on both without a GRC!

• UK passport: changing your gender
• UK driving licence: changing your gender

~ James

If you mean the page with the Dawn Yates email - yes, as far as I know these are still up to date! I did see reports not that long ago about delays to responses and I’m not sure if the current covid restrictions are affecting their access to phones, but I would keep trying, or perhaps try via the hospital switchboard phone number.

Any followers who’ve had recent contact with the Manchester Team able to confirm?

~ James

Yep! Basically anything vaguely official that has your name on it and can be verified to come from the time period you say it does can be used.

From the GRC application page: documents you must provide:

“Proof you’ve lived in your acquired gender

This proof must cover the required time that you’ve lived in your acquired gender. It could include copies of your:

• passport
• driving licence
• payslips or benefit documents
• utility bills or other documents of an official nature

All documents should be in your acquired name and gender. The earliest document must be dated before the beginning of the required time.”

~ James

Thanks for sharing!

- Harry

As long as you don’t apply the gel within a few hours bed and share a bed with someone (or someone is likely to be in prolonged contact with your sheets for some other reason) it’s fine! If you do share a bed with someone, you’ll have to either apply the gel earlier in the day or cover the application site.

~ James

hey sorry for a second ask i’m the anon who was asking about NHS GIC over Zoom. I forgot to explain that I’m not sure if I’ve been referred to the child service by accident bc of the shorter wait time and because i was originally referred to the adult services by them - plus Tavistock & Portman was what the child services were called. do Tavistock & Portman do adult services? the email was from gic.appointments@nhs.net if that helps

Yes, Charing Cross (now Tavistock and Portman adult GIC) are offering appointments via Zoom at the moment, and that sounds like a reasonable email for them as their website is gic.nhs.uk (the u18 service would be “gids” instead of “gic”).

Hope that helps!

~ James

You could try wearing a t shirt under the binder or otherwise cushioning the seams, yes! You could also try another kind of binder if you wanted to, but it might be worth experimenting with this one first rather than shelling out for a new one that you probably won’t be wearing for very long.

Any followers have any advice about making post-op binders more comfortable?

~ James

Here’s a link to our recently updated FAQs! You can also find these linked in the sidebar/top menu of the blog.

~ James

then asked trans specific ones (when I first started experiencing dysphoria, how long I’ve been on t, friend/family support). spoke about surgery - asked how important nipple sensation was to me, if I’d researched the surgery types they offer, which kind I’m hoping for, then had a quick look at my chest & asked me to keep building up as much chest muscle as I can. Any urgent questions between now & the pre-op appointment can be sent to the email address in the letter he’ll sending. He took notes & listened to what I had to say the whole time, I was left feeling confident & happy about everything. Overall, really nice guy! Also, not sure if you guys have been updated on the Manchester wait times recently, but just in case you haven’t; I was referred to the team in July(ish) last year & got a phone call scheduling the video consult exactly a week ago (Sept 23rd). The wait between your initial consultation and surgery should be around 12 months.

Thanks for sharing and I’m glad you found the experience positive!

~ James

Thanks for sharing! 

Anyone who’s interested can join by sending a message to the facebook page.

~ James

I’m not an expert, but this sounds a bit like folliculitis. It’s not something to be worried about, but if it’s been more than a few weeks and it’s not going away on its own, you might want to talk to a nurse or doctor about treatments.

Of course, any unexplained medical symptom is something to check with a medical professional if you’re concerned - and there’s no guarantee that it is folliculitis so I think it’s worth talking to your nurse/doctor to put your mind at rest/get treatment if needed.

~ James

Unfortunately I’ve heard multiple reviews of Berry’s hospital that say that the consideration and options for vegan patients is really limited. I would suggest contacting the hospital directly to ask about how they deal with dietary requirements, but will put this out to followers in the meantime in case they can say more.

~ James

A small reduction in your dose for one cycle of your injection is extremely unlikely to have a significant effect, don’t worry! The worst that’s likely to happen is that your testosterone levels drop a few days earlier than they otherwise would have, which might exacerbate any mood/energy/etc. changes you already have before your next injection is due.

Some breakthrough bleeding is a remote possibility, but fairly unlikely - people are late with injections, miss doses, etc., all the time and it’s not that common for shark week to return immediately.

~ James